President's Day Weekend in Southern Utah

We gathered this holiday weekend for 2 big family events: Cousin T's mission farewell and Adrie's 9th birthday!! All of it was fun...where to start? the beginning.  Saturday we arrived at the St. George "house" after doing some compulsory outlet shopping.  Then it was off to the trails to get out our wiggles.  Grandma and Grandpa showed us the way to the Anasazi Valley Petroglyphs, where we had a wonderful time taking in the awesome scenery.

 Oh the colors! Where else in the world could you see this?
We hiked up a short way, passing some stone remnants of Anasazi stone structures, and onto these giant boulders, prolific with pictographs.

 We made Grandma and Grandpa a little nervous with our thrill seeking tendencies.

In all our times of visiting St. George this was our first time on this trail. We loved it all--the rocks, the view, the Indian art and the weather was perfecto! We will definitely be back.

Back at "home" we got out the cake and ice cream for an early birthday celebration with cousins.

Sunday:
Cousin T gave a farewell address to family and congregation before he leaves on his mission to Brazil.  He spoke humbly about how we are all God's children. He could not imagine his life without having the relationship with God that he does. He couldn't imagine his own siblings not having that in their lives either. He felt humbled and blessed to be able to share those blessings with his brothers and sisters all over the world.  After we met at their house for brunch and had a nice visit with more awesome cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Ciao for now cousin T. You will be a great missionary.